Income from solar panels

accountsgirl73

Hi

I'm new to this forum so if this is in the wrong place, I apologise.

My elderly step dad had solar panels installed last year. Goodness knows why when he's 85 years old and won't see the returns, but that's a different story. It seems that he hasn't been receiving any payments for the excess electricity the panels generate and he's asked for my help to sort this out. I have looked at various websites and am totally confused. From what I can make out, he has a lower tariff from his energy company, British Gas, is this the feed in tariff? Should he have to sign up to a different scheme to start receiving income over and above what he uses?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated

[Deleted User]

If your Step Dad had them fitted free, and I hope he did, then any Feed in Tariff the panels produce will go to the company who fitted them.The meter for this could be anywhere in the house but most likely in the loft. The company will arrange with a meter reader to come round once a year to take the readings. Your Step Dad just gets the benefit of mostly free electric on a sunny day if he does nt run electric heaters .If he s paid for them, then he has to contact his supplier with readings every quarter.
If your Step Dad has an old analogue meter with a rotating ring, then a side benefit of this meter is it will most likely spin backwards.
His normal meter is nt affected at all by the panels and any lower tariff from BG is because he s been put onto their fix and fall tariff, which wont be especially good.Tell him to switch to Sainsburys Energy (who use BG) for much better rates on dual fuel one year fix on direct debit pay only

accountsgirl73

Thanks for that. He didn't have them fitted free, but like I said, that's another story! So, it sounds like I need to get in touch with his energy company to see if he's actually signed up to any sort of income generating plan and give them regular readings.

Unfortunately, he didn't research the company who knocked on his door and convinced him to have the damn things fitted and I didn't find out until it was too late. Let's say the reviews aren't entirely complimentary :-/

Thanks again

System

Hi. It's not quite that simple. The installer should have provided a registration certificate. You then need to register the installation with an energy company of your choice. Most people use the supplier of their domestic energy. They will ask for a meter reading every 3 months. Based on the readings provided, they will pay the FIT rate per kWh generated and 50% of the units generated will attract a small export payment. I suggest that the easiest way ahead would be to contact the original installer for more advice.

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/domestic/feed-tariff-scheme

Edit= I have just noticed that all PV Solar registrations now need a MCS registration certificate AND an EPC before an energy company will agree to pay FITs. The latter determines the FIT rate.

accountsgirl73

Thanks for the advice. It seems that the installation company may have done something right after all as he has both the MCS registration and the EPC so at least we've got the right documentation to proceed. Thanks for your help, I'll check out the link and follow up on that.

Thanks again, it's much appreciated